Honour Song: A Tribute

David R. Hutchinson is an educator on the Peguis Reserve in Manitoba.

Honour Song is an impressive biographical collection that centres on the
lives of 16 Native-Canadian professionals renowned for their
contributions to politics, art, architecture, sports, education, health,
and justice. The author profiles such celebrated figures as filmmaker
Alanis Obomsawin, Judge Murray Sinclair, singer Susan Aglukark, and
politician/chief Matthew Coon Come, successfully relating the unique
personal story of each. But she also manages to include broader themes
that emerge from this diverse, nationally representative group, themes
that speak not only to the historical impact of systemic racism but also
to the sense of triumph and accomplishment one feels when one has
overcome such adversity. Many aboriginal readers will no doubt find
Honour Song a source of inspiration, but there is much that
nonaboriginal readers may find inspirational here as well. If anything,
the biographies reveal healthy self-development and the healing powers
of love, respect, bravery, honesty, dignity, self-confidence, and
self-discipline—qualities that make the 16 featured figures excellent
role models for all.